Does one become an atheist when they feel there's no god OR when they give themself the title of "atheist"?

Question

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At what moment do you become an atheist...when you feel that there's no god or when you decied to give yourself the title of atheist? Cuz I'm an atheist and some say they didn't choose to be atheist, they just felt inside that there wasn't a god. But a lot of people feel that there's no god but still choose to believe it anyway. I feel like you can't be FORCED to not believe in a god, even if the evidence points to no god...I think it's a choice, so you become atheist when you confirm it in your mind, not when you have the feelings. Right???

Answer 1

I think it slowly works on you. It's like you come to a conclusion that god is such a ridiculous idea. Its like the more knowledge you gain, the more you began to realize how manmade the idea is. You know when you don't believe anymore, its like the longer time passes, the more convinced you become. I know you can't be forced to not believe, either you do or you don't.

Answer 2

I think some people are confused about whether or not they are an atheist or agnostic.

The definition of agnostic is: One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God. One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.

The definition of an Atheist is: a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.

No one can be forced to believe in a god or not to believe in one even though many families push their beliefs on their children. I was raised Catholic and even went to a Catholic school, but don't follow the religion.

So, in my opinioin I guess you could say that yes, it is a choice. I chose not to believe in a god because of the way the world is.

Answer 3

When you believe there is no god then you are an atheist. You can all yourself anything you like but it doesn't mean that it's true. I was agnostic for many years as I tried to figure out if I did or did not believe. I talked to many priests and reverends trying to convince myself that my religious background was valid. In the end I could no longer accept that there was a god. So my progression was from Christian to agnostic to atheist.

Answer 4

I would have to say that it was a lot of things that took a few years to make me an Atheist. There wasn't any one thing. But the biggest was never feeling gods presence of any kind at any time. After a while, I just stopped believing.

Answer 5

I am responsible for my own actions and beliefs. I chose not to believe in god. In my youth I had tried to make sense of this world. My so-so catholic upbringing did not do it for me. So I checked out other religions, christianity, budism, etc. None could explain the truth, it was all circles of lies within circles of lies with no clear path to the truth.

I finally searched my soul for the answers and one day I realized that organized religion is make believe for those too weak to be able to take an honest look at what our world truelly is. I chose atheism because religion is dishonest and is the reason why our world has become so damaged. It feeds you acceptable lies forcing you to hand your ethical responsibilities over to others while allowing you the option to refuse acceptance of your own faults.

As for God, part of me would still like to believe in him/her, to believe that the world isn't a cold place and that someone can and does care about you but it is extremely difficult when I live in a body which is uncomfortable and downright painful at times. If God does exist and he is our so-called father/creator, then why would he allow hunger, pain, war, famine, injustice, death, disease, disabilities, and bad deeds to rule our world instead of just helping us to reach a utopian society where everyone can care about each other. He would if he truelly existed or so the teachings would have us believe.

Other questions also arised over the years without any logical answers to them. Why would he not show himself to us, and prove that he truelly does exist instead of allowing us to wonder. Why would he allow harm to his children. What could possibly be gained by his hiding. If he's so powerful than he couldn't be harmed, so why avoid us. So either 1) he doesn't exist or 2) he does exist and does not care one iota about his children or the world he supposedly created for us.

Either way he is a waste.

Answer 6

I believe I am incapable of believing in god. I know it sounds strange but my mind will not accept the idea of god, especially the christian god.

I don't think people who know there isn't a god in their heart but still choose to believe anyways are true theists. It is what you believe in your own mind that makes you a theist or atheist, not the title you give yourself.

Answer 7

Being atheist means not believing in a god, so even if you continue to hold to your religion if you feel there's not god you are an atheist, albeit a closet one.
The hard part is admitting it to yourself.

Answer 8

That's an excellent question. I feel like I do not have the ability to believe something that I know is not true. Even if there were no word for atheist, I would be one.

Answer 9

As a Christian I would have to speculate that they become an Atheist when they reject God and salvation through belief in His Son Jesus. This is their choice and upon making the choice to reject God their path in eternity is set the same as mine was when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and repented of sin.

Answer 10

No, it's when you have the feelings. The definition of atheist is "one who doesn't believe in gods". It's not "one who says they're atheist."
Even if you've never even heard of the word, if you don't believe in the existence of gods, then you're atheist.